I just heard from our traveling duo, Rick McPherson and Marv Boettcher, and thought I’d fill you in on how the trip is going. They are traveling from Troutdale to Montana, then off to Ohio, back to Montana, and finally a safe return home to Troutdale.

A loaded truck & flat bed trailer with two vehicles (a ’91 Plymouth Voyager van and a ’70 Ford construction van) and 16 boards of banana boxes filled with #10 shiners and two drivers headed to Alberton, Montana Sunday morning at 10 am. The students at the Northwest Indian Bible School were ecstatic as they unloaded 2,304 cans of fruits and vegetables. The ’91 Plymouth Voyager will be used by the Bible school as well.

I know you are asking “what is a shiner?”. A shiner is any can of food without a label. And how does one find out what is inside? Every metal can has a code on it and our volunteers use a code book to decipher the contents, then write on the outside with permanent markers what is inside. These #10 cans are the larger ones and they contain all kinds of fruits and vegetables like plums, peaches, pears, green beans, corn, etc.

Monday, our team left Alberton and traveled to Crow Agency where the other vehicle (the construction van) was delivered to Pastor Ken Pretty on Top for use in their ministry. After an overnight with Ken and Hannah, the two are now “on the road again” traveling to Salem, Ohio….this is what we call the “long haul”. It’s, of course, a much lighter haul since they’ve offloaded everything they had so they can fill it up at their next stop.

 We’ll keep you updated with more information as they call us daily. Pray for safety and continued provision.